@Article{TrancosoCaToScFoMi:2010:DeCoMa,
author = "Trancoso, Ralph and Carneiro Filho, Arnaldo and Tomazella, Javier
and Schietti, Juliana and Forsberg, Bruce Rider and Miller, Robert
Pritchard",
affiliation = "{} and {} and {Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)}",
title = "Deforestation and conservation in major watersheds of the
Brazilian Amazon",
journal = "Environmental Conservation",
year = "2010",
volume = "36",
number = "*",
pages = "277--288",
month = "fev",
keywords = "Amazon, Brazil, deforestation, digital elevation model,
hydrological impacts, indigenous lands, large watersheds,
protected areas.",
abstract = "Conserving natural vegetation cover is of critical importance for
maintaining the ecological integrity and hydrological properties
of large river basins (more than 100 000km2). Recent estimates
indicate that more than 700 000km2 of Brazilian Amazon have
already been deforested, and to reduce further losses and preserve
the important natural and cultural resources in this region, large
conservation areas have been created by the Brazilian government.
The present study analysed land cover and land use change in the
major watersheds of the Brazilian Amazon, in order to evaluate the
current balance between deforestation and conservation of natural
areas in the region. The results show that watersheds draining the
southern part of the basin have suffered the highest deforestation
rates, with the largest losses (8.320% of total basin area)
occurring in the Madeira, Tapaj´os, Xingu, Araguaia and Tocantins
river basins. Most largewatersheds already have significant
deforestation in their headwaters, which can affect hydrological
functions and ecological sustainability. The greatest allocation
of land for conservation was encountered in the Trombetas, Xingu
and Negro watersheds, where conservation areas occupied 92.5, 56.9
and 50.6% of the total basin, respectively. While extensive areas
of the Amazon biome have been deforested, on the scale of large
watersheds there is a positive balance between conservation areas
and deforestation, and on average the area delimited by
conservation areas is more than three times larger than the
deforested areas. An analysis by subwatersheds, however, indicates
that certain regions have achieved more critical levels of
deforestation, in some situations affecting more than 80% of the
subwatersheds.",
doi = "10.1017/S0376892909990373",
url = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0376892909990373",
issn = "0376-8929 and 1469-4387",
language = "en",
targetfile = "Trancoso et al. 2010. Deforestation and conservation in major
watersheds of the Brazilian Amazon.pdf",
urlaccessdate = "03 jun. 2024"
}